(IWWC) Onesimus, Forgotten Child

"- seen the leaked intelligence documents, we know the reality of the horrors which time and time again are bestowed upon our lands under the banner of the public welfare. Many of us standing here today 'till now never dreamt that species of man would industriously plot their own demise and barter away our health and god given free will for --"

A series of sharp explosions drowned out the rhetoric to leave in its wake an atmosphere dense with the noised of collective fear and disorientation. The voice which moments ago had been so strong is a whisper midst the sudden chaos; "This is an attempt to disrupt our legal gathering by inciting panic, don't --" crimson spouted forth from the ringleaders chest as he fell from his podium, the staccato of several more stun grenades obscuring the gunfire which effectively dispatched the sole attempt at higher communication within the mob. The majority scattered like ants at this sudden change of circumstance, a few brandished firearms and attempted to incapacitate the approaching swarm of security drones -- several were brought down by sniper fire before -as if by an invisible hand - the entirety of the mob collapsed as an appliance which has been unplugged.

Dominance established and the crowd reduced to a uniform mass of mindless grunts and screams of agony by the array of microwaves now bombarding them, the Conductor drone approached the beautiful canvas of white noise. The strength of the microwave field was reduced and the speakers of dozens of drones kicked to life at once, transmitting upon the disabled masses a command: "REMAIN SILENT AND CALM, DO NOT MOVE. YOU ARE UNDER ARREST FOR FELONY TREASON AGAINST THE STATE. THE CHARGES ARE DUE TO REFUSAL OF YOUR STATE MANDATED INOCULATIONS UNDER PROVISION SEVEN FIVE OH NINE IN THE NAU HEALTH CODE ." About this time, several individuals broke free of the herd in a bid to escape apprehension and likely death before one by one falling crippled to the ground in a pile as if encountering a brick wall, deprived of any action save for screaming in pain from the impact of the directed microwaves. The sounds of agony were only drowned out by the approaching march of a squadron of NAU grunts and another command issued from the Conductor , "ACT NOW AND YOU WILL RECEIVE TWO BOTTLES OF CARBOXICUT FOR THE PRICE OF ONE, ONLY 24999 CREDITS! THIS PRODUCT EFFECTIVELY AND SAFELY REGULATES THE RESPIRATORY PROCESS BY PROMOTING RELAXATION OF THE LUNGS, MANY LUNGS ARE OVERACTIVE DUE TO MALFUNCTIONS IN THE PROCESSES OF THE BRAIN AND DAILY USE OF CARBOXICUT COULD SAVE YOU THOUSANDS OF CREDITS ON YOUR YEARLY CARBON TAXES..."

The televiewers infomercial aroused Onesimus from his slumber and he yawned deeply, taking in a breath of the lung tinglingly acrid atmosphere and tuning into the quiet thwacks of footsteps from the citizens commuting to their various objectives around him. He coughed, hocked up a mouthful of flem and fired it into the street before rolling over and sprawling out his body against the sun-warmed pavement. He paused for a moment and attempted to tune out the propaganda box - where the # was he? A passerby stepped on his hand, and he swore and cradled it lazily before seeing that his status monitor bracelet indicated that 1000 credits had been placed on his account by some anonymous good Samaritan. His other worries were suddenly abolished by the good fortune and he set off in search of a smoking station.

He walked past the foul aromas emanating from the local soup kitchens and retched, speeding up his pace. Onesimus had boycotted the feeding stations some ten months ago, citing "food that tastes like reconstituted human scat, and gives me the runs to boot". No food at all is surely better than the filth they hand out there, he reasoned... nothing but toxic waste distribution centers, thats what they were. The others thought he was mad, yet THEY were the ones shoveling filth into their ignorant faces.

[edit on 6-8-2009 by illusionincarnate]

Besides, he felt better than ever and really, he appreciated the sense of immunity his condition afforded, none felt compelled to harm him or instigate conflict with him since his image became that of the hapless cripple, the ghost.

He walked into the smoke parlor, a sign on the wall warned against storing smoke for later.. and spent the the whole of his net worth on a 30 minute session. Entering the booth he sat on a metal bench stained to an off yellow and put his smoking mask on. A soothing robotic womans voice piped over tinny speakers urged him to breathe calmly. The pleasant mixture of chemicals was harsh but pleasant in its familiarity, bringing over his body a tingling warmth and mental numbness which had become his prime objective as of late. He zoned out to the gentle propaganda of the telescreen inside the booth and gazed out the viewport to a world stained yellow as he allowed the noxious fumes to enter his body...

"-- terrorist sect publicly promoting defiance of international law were apprehended moments ago by special forces units at the CPH building downtown, authorities say the gathering began as a public protest but quickly erupted into violent rioting under the instigation of local cell leader Zian Alanoma -believed to be affiliated with the WOA. Joseph Cromwell is here to give us the details.

Absolutely, John: The WOA have been stepping up their anti-state aggressions in the past few days following the initiation of the Universal Contagion Elimination Program. The initiative, hailed by scientists around the globe, is projected by recent expert studies to eliminate ninety to ninety five percent of all cancer in humans through "Nanotechnological Immune Augmentation" procedures supplementing vaccination regimens this year. The technology works by installing within the human body a self replicating network of nanobots which will monitor all of the bodies functions, helping to identify and eliminate foreign contaminants such as viruses and toxic chemicals - and actually using those substances as the fuel of the secondary immune system. All said and done we're talking the eradication of a disease which has singularly killed more humans than all the wars of the world, combined, John - the prospect of eliminating all that misery and pain is nothing short of a miracle by any standards.

Nonetheless there are some who oppose the measures including the WOA, who have declared war on CPH claiming that the mandatory immune supplementation act is part of a centuries long conspiracy by "alien" forces to enslave humanity - and are violently working to inhibit the program through terrorist acts and illegally disseminated propaganda. The NAU has established a policy of forceful containment against the faction, including the restriction of known members access to the communications and financial networks of the nation in addition to issuing an alert of threat against the public health. John, we have to remember that we're dealing with a faction which utilized suicide bombers against civilian targets - workers of the public health, John. They are mad men. They have no no respect for reason or human life due to - it's been found that the WOA group utilizes highly sophisticated mind control tactics - so their behavior is due to a kind of mental WHITEWASHING performed under this terrorist institution. This group is preying on hapless citizens and manipulating them into fostering an inhuman belief system...

A buzzer went off signaling the end of his session, and he unsteadily got up, pulling a plastic bag from his pocket and wrapping it around the nozzle to store the last few emissions of smoke for later, and walked past a fat woman holding a Chao Chao as he left, already missing the sweetly noxious smoke and suffering from the aftermath of de ja vu - why had the vision of the protest come to him? Whatever the reason for it all, he thought as he knotted off the bag, his heart told him it was gonna be big

[edit on 6-8-2009 by illusionincarnate]

Notes on Onesimus:

Onesimus was volunteered by his family for project INDIGO after initial probes by the state found that his DNA was suitable for modification through the project. From pre-birth to his late childhood, Onesimus was subjected to a broad range of genetic manipulation and integration with electronics which ultimately left him with supernatural psychic ability - in his case obtained via his ability to subconsciously merge with electronic sources of perception during REM sleep - in addition he could sustain himself on primarily sunlight supplemented only occassionally by solid foods.

In his late childhood Onesimus had a mental breakdown following a procedure resulting in the death of a handler within the INDIGO program - subsequently Onesimus was subjected to a broad array of chemicals designed to all but destroy his consciousness while his masters observed the gradual decay of his human and extra human faculties. The studies on this process might have continued indefinitely but Onesimus managed to escape the mental facility with a sympathetic party within the institution, after which he lived as a vagrant incapable of integration with society, retaining most of his superhuman capacities yet ultimately unaware that he holds them.

His place within the INDIGO revolution, (though he isn't aware that is what it is during the period of focus in this short story) is one of serving as an empowered functionary of the WOA and other anti establishment forces - he is recruited into their ranks after they discover his excellent potential to serve as a spy for the rebel forces. The INDIGO revolution primarily comes as the genetically enhanced humans of the world cross the rubicon into merger with technology, and begin requiring the unmodified to undergo measures which greatly hinder their capacity to act freely - Onesimus serves as a counterbalance to the INDIGO presence within the establishment, though his unique capacities lack focus.

[edit on 6-8-2009 by illusionincarnate]

Although I want more, S&f just for a realistic description of things to come and not bashing or branding the Indigo as a threat to humanity.

Great story, i liked the descriptions. Great and very fluid read, good luck in the contest

It was difficult to wrap my head around the nightmare world described in this story. The visual effects left me literally (pun intended) stunned.

Glad you got it submitted just before the moon set in the west.

poor Onesimus, not only forgotten but a pawn to the PTB. Nicely, and passionately, written .

reply to post by masqua


Heh. The idea for Onesimus popped out of me after studying vaccination history all day and noticing the contest at about midnight ;p I was going for a futuristic interpretation of an event like the Russian Plague Riots viewed from the vantage point of a vagrant - in this case a psychic one! Anyhoo, glad you enjoyed it and thanks for the comments, good luck in the competition all!